Wake Me Up
by ToastySpongeCake
Summary: "It was as if it all happened in slow motion." A short tale of the tragedy of Kagome's death, and the way InuYasha tries to cope. Rated M for subject matter.


**Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or any of it's characters.**

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**Wake Me Up**

**Written by: ToastySpongeCake**

It was as if it all happened in slow motion.

_The arrow came from behind. Out of nowhere, it seemed. He could hear it whistling through the air and through the branches of the trees, and he turned fast, clawed hand grasped firmly on the handle of his sword. Then his eyes turned to her. She jolted, her shoulders snapping forward as the arrow entered through her back and made its exit tearing through the front of her chest. Her eyes locked with his, and in them he could see all of her fear and pain. _

InuYasha leaned against the Bone Eater's Well and downed another jug of sake, tossing it to the side with the other jugs he had already finished. One, two, three, four. But it wasn't enough. His thoughts still burned with the memory of that day, and he was determined to flush it out of his mind completely. Reaching to his other side, his fingers groped around for another jug. He grasped the handle with his left hand and lifted the jug to his lips. With his right palm on the bottom, he tilted the jug up until the spicy liquid poured into his mouth, burning his throat as he chugged. Stopping to take a breath, InuYasha closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the splintery wood of the well.

_The putrid smell of blood hit his nose almost instantly after the arrow's impact. She reached up slowly, wrapping her fingers around the end of the arrow that protruded from in between her breasts. The thick dark red liquid oozed in the gaps between her fingers, and began to run down the front of her abdomen, staining her pristine white school blouse. It trickled down the front of her skirt, dripping onto the grass once it reached the hem. Her body hunched, her knees weakened, and she began to fall. He caught her before she had the chance to hit the ground. _

"_Kagome!" He sat on the ground with her in his arms, his eyes scanning over her wounded body. "Oh god, Kagome no! Come on, stay with me!" _

_Her eyes opened to meet his and she tried to open her mouth to speak, but only for a moment. In the next moment, her entire body fell limp. Blood leaked from the corners of her mouth, her eyes became dull and lifeless, and her chest stopped rising with breath._

"Damn it all!" InuYasha chugged the remainder of the jug of sake he held and smashed the jug into the ground. Every day he relived the tragic memory of Kagome's death, every detail of the memory still as clear as the day it happened. The sound of the arrow whipping through the wind, the small gasp that escaped Kagome's lips as the arrow passed through her body, and the blood. All the blood.

He reached for another jug.

"_Kagome? Kagome! Please, god no, Kagome…" His body shook with sobs as he cradled Kagome's lifeless body in his arms. _

"_I need you! I need you here with me! Please don't leave me, Kagome." But he knew she was gone. No matter how much he prayed and pleaded and hoped and wished, Kagome was gone. Carefully, he grasped the arrow and pulled it out of her bleeding body. He pulled her into his chest and sobbed into her hair, which still smelled of the shampoo she brings back from her time. The ends of his silvery hair began to stain dark red from the blood on her body, and the stench of death wafted into his nose. With all these smells, plus the scent of salt from his own tears, it was almost enough to make him sick. _

_His shoulders shook and he held her tight to him. Leaning down, he whispered softly to her. "I love you, Kagome. I'm so sorry." _

InuYasha sobbed, hanging his head between his knees. "What did I do to deserve this?" He mumbled at the ground. He then turned, looking up towards the clouds.

"Tell me!" He shouted angrily into the universe. "What the hell did I do to deserve this? First Kikyo, and now you've taken Kagome away from me too!" InuYasha jumped to his feet. "What am I doing wrong? Am I never meant to be happy? Goddammit!" In his drunken anger, InuYasha threw the jug of sake at the well, smashing into one side of it. The wood crumbled into a dusty heap at his feet.

InuYasha stared at the broken well. He remembered the countless times he had pulled Kagome over its edge. He remembered the very first moment they had here, when he held her to him and told her to go back home because it wasn't safe here. Oh, how he wish she would have listened.

"Kagome…" InuYasha fell to his knees in front of the well. He picked the broken pieces up and squeezed them tight in his hands, allowing the old wood to splinter his fingers. Once again, his body shook with sobs. "I'm so sorry, Kagome. I'm so sorry I couldn't save you."

InuYasha's brain began to dizzy, and his body became hot. He fell back, still clutching the wood of the well in his palms. "I'm so sorry...I love you. I'm so so sorry…"

As he laid there, staring at the sky, InuYasha could feel his mind slipping. His eyes were becoming heavy, and his heart beat began to slow. And in his last moments, InuYasha's memory flooded with the face of the only person in the world worth dying for.

"I love you. I'm so so sorry."

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A/N: Thanks for reading. This idea just came to me tonight so I just had to get it out in writing. I would love to hear what you all thought. Thanks so much.

-Toasty


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